Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

A recipe for Lemon Lavender Cupcakes that is lemony, floral and delicious. These cupcakes are unique and beautiful and everything is made from scratch!

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Today I’m sharing a recipe for Lemon Lavender Cupcakes. Something a little different than your typical cupcake and sure to be a crowd-pleaser. This is an oldy but a goody, I first made these almost 10 years ago and it’s still one of my favorites!

For some reason, lemon and lavender go perfectly together and when you have fresh lemon zest and lavender cooking in your kitchen your house smells amazing. Now I’m dreaming of summer…get here quick, please! ☀️ These are a great dessert to serve at a shower or lunch party or any occasion you want.

Ingredient List for Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp dried lavender buds + more for decoration
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 2 tbsp lemon zest (zest your lemon BEFORE you juice it!)
• 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup milk + 1 tbsp, room temp
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 4 tbsp vegetable shortening (optional)
• 4 cups confectioners powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

These cupcakes are easy to put together and they are completely made from scratch!

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare the cupcake pan with liners.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients and set them aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together then add the egg and lemon zest.
4. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients including the milk in three intervals, being careful not to overmix.
5. Fill the prepared liners and bake for 20-22 minutes.

How to Make Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Make the Lemon Buttercream Frosting while the cupcakes are cooling. Cream the butter and shortening for 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. After 4 cups, add the milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add more powdered sugar if desired until you get the sweetness and consistency you like.

The vegetable shortening is optional. If you do not want to add shortening, just use all butter (2 sticks). The vegetable shortening helps make the frosting just a bit more firm and creates a little bit of a crust after piping which I like. I also wanted to make the rose pattern using the Wilton 2D tip and knew that the frosting needed to be firm.

How do you get Lavender flavor into cupcakes?

To get the beautiful and authentic lavender flavor, you will use dried lavender buds. Although all lavender is edible, you want to use culinary lavender because it has a sweeter flavor. Regular lavender is more bitter. Most of the dried lavender you find in-store and online are culinary, but double-check the description or ask if you are not sure. You don’t need much to get the perfect lavender flavor, these cupcakes only call for 1 1/2 tsp!

Want more Delicious Cupcake and Lavender Recipes?

• 10 Uses for Homemade Lavender Syrup
• Lavender Sourdough Discard Scones with Lemon Glaze
• Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
• Easy Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes
• Apple Lavender Galette Recipe
• Instant Pot Lavender Cheesecake

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

A beautiful and delicious lemon lavender cupcake recipe that is easy to pull together and always a hit. This recipe is perfect for a shower, party or gift.

5 from 22 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 38 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 399kcal

Author: EmilyFabulous

Equipment

• cupcake pan and liners
• large mixing bowl
• stand mixer or hand mixer
• piping bag
• piping tip (I used Wilton 2D)

Ingredients

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoon dried lavender buds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest your lemon BEFORE you juice it!)
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup milk, room temp

Lemon Frosting

• 12 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp (¾ cup)
• 4 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
• 4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• fresh or dried lavender buds for decoration

Instructions

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  
• Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and lavender buds in a mixing bowl together and set aside.
  
• In another bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, this takes a few minutes. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.
  
• Add about a third of the dry ingredients and mix them into the butter mixture using a spatula or spoon. Be careful not to over mix, or your cupcakes will be dense. Add half of the milk and mix it in. Add another third of the dry ingredients and combine. Add the rest of the milk and the rest of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
  
• Fill liners with batter and bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
  

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

• Add the butter and shortening to a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. After 4 cups, add the vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and zest. Add more powdered sugar if desired.
  
• Fill a piping bag with frosting and put some onto each of the cooled cupcakes. After each cupcake has frosting on it, sprinkle with lavender buds so that they stick when the frosting hardens. Enjoy!
  

Notes

• To easily fill a piping bag, place it in a tall, shallow glass and fold it over the edges. You can easily fill the bag without making a mess!
• You could also make lavender sugar ahead of time and add it in place of sugar and buds. See my post on 5 Things you can do with your Coffee Grinder for how to do that!
• If you want a lighter cupcake, you can make a lemon glaze instead of the buttercream. Just mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 4-5 teaspoons lemon juice, and lemon zest. 
• Nutrition facts calculated using milk. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 65.4g | Protein: 1.9g | Fat: 14.4g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 56.8g | Calcium: 28mg

Any nutrition calculations are only estimates using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

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